ODI preview / Ed Hawkins / 28 June 2011 /

Ed Hawkins previews the first of five one-day internationals between the teams, starting with the contest at The Oval on Tuesday

England
Alastair Cook will lead England in his new role as permanent one-day captain. The wisdom of picking Cook even in the team has to be questioned, however. It is quite incredible that England, after all these years, have failed to recognise that opening batsmen who can hit over the top, not squirt to third man, make the difference.

James Anderson returns to the squad to bolster the England bowling, which looked predictably futile in the Twenty20 international. Jade Dernbach and Chris Woakes are competing for a seamer's spot.

Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka again wait on the fitness of Tillakaratne Dilshan. He is still nursing his busted thumb and he will be a big miss for the tourists after he topped the runs charts in the World Cup. Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jaywardene could open once more if Dilshan does not make it.

Their great weakness, and what cost them in the World Cup, was a lack of batting depth. It remains to be seen whether it has been solved but if they are five down for not very many, consider Sri Lanka to be in trouble.

Venue and conditions
A good batting wicket, as ever, is expected in south London. The average first-innings score in the last 10 ODIs at the venue is a healthy 260. England do not have the best of records on this road, which again highlights the folly of their selection policy at the top of the order. They have lost eight of the last 14 in the last 10 years and often get blown away by opposition batsmen. Jayasuriya did it to them in 2006 when he struck 122 off 136 balls and Sri Lanka posted 319.

Match odds
For some reason the match odds market has been dictated by those who have forgotten that
Sri Lanka made the World Cup final and England did not.

In that tournament there was an ocean between the teams - Sri Lanka thumped Andrew Strauss' team by 10 wickets at the RPS in Colombo - and, largely, that has always been the case. Sri Lanka have won nine of the last 13, often by big margins.

To break it down, Sri Lanka boast the better players in the key areas: a fast start with the bat and wicket-takers. Jayawardene is well known for a being a class act and with Kumar Sangakkara finding form again, they are in healthy shape with the willow. With the ball Lasith Malinga and Ajantha Mendis are dangers which England cannot match.

So why are England, who are a truly dreadful [1.74], favourites for this match? Not sure. The [2.32] about Sri Lanka should be snapped up sharpish.

Top England batsman
Ian Bell, providing he can get a berth after he was bizarrely left out of the Twenty20 line-up, and Eoin Morgan are the men to follow. With ODI averages of 52 and 54 respectively at the venue they are the value. Bell comes under the auspices of Any Other at [6.60] and Morgan is [5.30].They are both around [2.30] for a 50.

Top Sri Lanka batsman
Jayawardene and Sangakkara are at the top of the market at [5.2] and [4.20]. Jayasuriya, with runs under his belt previously, is [6.0]. The first two are around the [2.7] mark for a 50 and despite his record, old man Jayasuriya may be worth taking on for a lay at the slightly bigger price of [3.4].

Best bet: Sri Lanka [2.32]

'.$sign_up['title'].'

'; } } ?>

:

:

:

?

: